(ABC NEWS) -- Now that the conclave to elect the next pope will begin Tuesday, a political
drama appears to be unfolding behind closed doors at the Vatican, with Italian
media reporting that U.S. cardinals are trying to sway the selection process.

Several Italian newspapers have reported that the U.S. cardinals had been
resisting pressure from Italian cardinals to convene the conclave right away.
The Italians have more votes and more visibility, so a quick vote is thought to
favor them.

Two broad factions appear to be the Romans and the reformers. On one side are
mostly Italian insiders, whom some newspapers refer to here as the "feudal
lords" of the Vatican. They're eager to protect their fiefdoms and have
reportedly drafted a Brazilian as their front man: the Archbishop of Sao Paolo,
Cardinal Odilo Scherer.

"The Roman Curia seems to like him," said John Thavis, author of "The Vatican
Diaries."

"Basically, that seems to be the argument against him for the reformers."

The reformers -- reportedly led by the U.S. delegation -- essentially want a
new sheriff in town to clean the place up, possibly even an American. The
Vatican has been so fraught with scandal in recent years that the Italian media
are all but cheering them on.

As they look to the conclave Tuesday, when they'll first say a special mass
for the election of a pope, the cardinals appear to be no closer to reaching a
consensus.

The winning candidate must get at least 77 votes, a clear two-thirds majority
among the 115 voting cardinals.

The first vote will take place Tuesday night, but don't expect white smoke
right away indicating that the process is over. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of
Washington told the Turin newspaper La Stampa: "The conclave will not be short."

After that the cardinals will take two votes in the morning and two votes in
the evening until they have a pope. All the votes are made during silent prayer
within the Sistine Chapel, which has been closed to tourists.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see this go three or four days," Thavis said.
"After that, the cardinals leave the impression they can't make a choice."

But the Vatican says there's no problem with the cardinals taking their time.